User interface for audio video display device such as tv personalized for multiple viewers

ABSTRACT

Settings for an audio video display device (AVDD) such as a TV are established by combining settings from multiple individual viewer profiles when viewers of the respective individual profiles are recognized through image recognition as viewing the AVDD.

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/473,098, filed Apr. 7, 2011.

I. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present application relates generally to user interfaces (UI) for audio video display devices (AVDD) such as televisions (TVs).

II. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

User interfaces for AVDDs that envision customization of certain settings of the AVDD according to a viewer profile typically require a viewer to navigate through a cumbersome system of menus, type in a password or PIN, and then select which one of multiple profiles to use to establish AVDD settings. As understood herein, these types of solutions fail to offer a viewer a way to quickly and easily select a profile with minimal user interface steps, nor do they permit combining any given profile with another profile as might be desired when multiple viewers are watching the same AVDD.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to principles set forth further below, an audio video display device (AVDD) includes a processor, a video display, and computer readable storage medium bearing instructions executable by the processor present a message on the display. The message includes a first selection indicating that settings, of the AVDD are to represent settings in at least two individual viewer profiles. Responsive to receiving the first selection, the processor establishes AVDD settings according to settings in both individual viewer profiles.

In some embodiments the processor establishes AVDD settings adding overlapping settings characteristics between a first individual viewer profile and a second individual viewer profile to a combined settings profile (CP). A characteristic is overlapping in that it appears in both first and second individual viewer profiles. The AVDD settings may be defined by the CP. Further, in example embodiments the processor establishes AVDD settings by adding to the CP non-overlapping, non-conflicting settings characteristics of the first individual viewer profile and second individual viewer profile. A characteristic is non-overlapping, non-conflicting in that it appears in the first individual viewer profile and not the second individual viewer profile and is not mutually exclusive with a setting in the second individual viewer profile. Still further, if desired non-overlapping setting characteristics may be prioritized according to at least one prioritization rule.

In non-limiting examples the processor, responsive to a determination that a setting of a corresponding characteristic in the first individual viewer profile conflicts with a setting defined by the second individual viewer profile, uses neither profile to establish the setting and instead establishes a default setting.

In examples discussed further below the processor can give priority to a most restrictive parental lock setting among the individual viewer profiles. If desired, the processor can give a first setting from a first individual viewer profile more weight than the first setting from a second individual viewer profile, combining the first and second settings accordingly to establish a combined first setting which is established in the AVDD. In some cases settings from the first viewer profile are always weighted more than settings from the second viewer profile. In other examples a first setting from the first viewer profile may be weighted more than a first setting from the second viewer profile, while a second setting from the first viewer profile may be weighted less than a second setting from the second viewer profile.

In another aspect, an audio video display device (AVDD) includes a processor, a video display, and computer readable storage medium bearing instructions executable by the processor to establish at least one setting in the AVDD according to a combined setting derived from individual settings associated with respective individual viewers.

In another aspect, a method is disclosed for establishing settings for an audio video display device (AVDD) by accessing first and second individual viewer profiles containing respective settings. The method includes establishing the settings for the AVDD based at least in part on the respective settings in the first and second individual viewer profiles.

The details of the present invention, both as to its structure and operation, can best be understood in reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a non-limiting example system in accordance with present principles;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an example remote control (RC) that may be used to control the graphical user interfaces (GUI) described herein, schematically showing the processor and wireless transceiver;

FIG. 3 is a screen shot of a nine panel GUI in a coarse mode suitable for gesture control;

FIG. 4 is a screen shot of a nine panel GUI in a fine mode suitable for RC control;

FIG. 5 is a non-limiting flow chart of example recognition notification logic according to present principles;

FIG. 6 is a screen shot of an example notification message;

FIG. 7 is a non-limiting flow chart showing example profile combination logic; and

FIG. 8 is a non-limiting flow chart showing example object recognition and corresponding image presentation logic.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring initially to the non-limiting example embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a system 10 includes an audio video display device (AVDD) 12 such as a TV including a TV tuner 16 communicating with a TV processor 18 accessing a tangible computer readable storage medium 20 such as disk-based or solid state storage. The AVDD 12 can output audio on one or more speakers 22. The AVDD 12 can receive streaming video from the Internet using a built-in wired or wireless modern 24 communicating with the processor 18 which may execute a software-implemented browser 26. Video is presented under control of the TV processor 18 on a TV display 28 such as but not limited to a high definition TV (HDTV) flat panel display, and may be a touch screen display. User commands to the processor 18 may be wirelessly received from a remote control (RC) 30 using, e.g., rf or infrared. Audio-video display devices other than a TV may be used, e.g., smart phones, game consoles, personal digital organizers, notebook computers and other types of computers, etc.

TV programming from one or more terrestrial TV broadcast sources 32 as received by a terrestrial broadcast antenna 34 which communicates with the AVDD 12 may be presented on the display 28 and speakers 22. The terrestrial broadcast programming may conform to digital ATSC standards and may carry within it a terrestrial broadcast EPG, although the terrestrial broadcast EPG may be received from alternate sources, e.g., the Internet via Ethernet, or cable communication link, or satellite communication link.

TV programming from a cable TV head end 36 may also be received at the TV for presentation of TV signals on the display 28 and speakers 22. When basic cable only is desired, the cable from the wall typically carries TV signals in QAM or NTSC format and is plugged directly into the “F-type connector” 38 on the TV chassis in the U.S., although the connector used for this purpose in other countries may vary. In contrast, when the user has an extended cable subscription for instance, the signals from the head end 36 are typically sent through a STB 40 which may be separate from or integrated within the TV chassis but in any case which sends HDMI baseband signals to the TV. Other types of connections may be used, e.g., MOCA, USB, 1394 protocols, DLNA.

Similarly, HDMI baseband signals transmitted from a satellite source 42 of TV broadcast signals received by an integrated receiver/decoder (IRD) 44 associated with a home satellite dish may be input to the AVDD 12 for presentation on the display 28 and speakers 22. Also streaming video may be received from the Internet 46 for presentation on the display 28 and speakers 22. The streaming video may be received at the computer modem 24 or it may be received at an in-home modern 48 that is external to the AVDD 12 and conveyed to the AVDD 12 over a wired or wireless Ethernet link and received at an RJ45 or 802.11x antenna on the TV chassis.

Also, in some embodiments a video camera 50, which may be integrated in the chassis if desired or mounted separately and electrically connected thereto, may be connected to the processor 18 to provide to the processor 16 video images of viewers looking at the display 28. In some non-limiting embodiments, the processor 18 executes facial recognition using the video images received from the camera 50 to identify particular viewers. The processor 18 also stores images of viewers on the medium 20 in non-limiting embodiments for future determination of whether viewer is recognized when compared to stored images, or whether a recently received image relates to a new, or non-recognized, viewer. If desired, the processor 18 also creates and/or associates a profile with a user and/or stored images of the user and store the profile on the medium 20. A microphone 52 may also be provided on the chassis or separate therefrom and can be electrically connected to the processor 18 to provide viewer-generated voice commands to the processor 18.

FIG. 2 shows that an example RC 30 may include a power on key 60 that can be toggled to energize and deenergize the AVDD 12. A touch-sensitive pad 62 may be provided against which a user can move his finger to correspondingly move a screen cursor on the display 28. Tapping the pad 62 can generate a “select” signal, it being understood that point-and-click devices other than the touch sensitive pad 62 may be used.

Also, a back key 64 may be provided to cause the display 28 to go back a screen shot, i.e., to present the screen shot immediately prior to the one being displayed when the back signal is generated, so as to enable a user to navigate through the various GUIs shown herein. A home key 66 may be provided to cause the below-described “home” GUI to be presented on the display 28, and an options key 68 may be provided to allow a user to cause a list of GUI options to be presented in the display 28. Volume output by the speakers 22 of the AVDD 12 can be controlled using a volume up/down rocker key 70. Manipulation of a key or the pad 62 on the RC 30 causes a respective signal to be sent to an RC 72 in the RC 30, which transmits the corresponding command to the AVDD 12 using a wireless transceiver 74 such as but not limited to an infrared transceiver. In addition, if desired four arrow keys may be arranged on the RC 30 to move a cursor up, down, left, and right on the display 28. Also, channel up/down keys may be provided as well as a microphone for voice input. A full QWERTY keyboard or keypad may be provided if desired. The touch pad 62 may be provided with a buzzer or other device to generate tactile feedback to the user.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show an example home GUI that may be presented on the display 28 of the AVDD 12. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, nine information panels arranged as shown in three rows of three panels each present visual content. The panels shown in FIG. 3 are of equal size with each other and are rectangular as shown. According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the to left panel 76 of the GUI always shows the currently selected video content, typically either televised content front a selected TV channel or streaming video from a selected website. Information pertaining to available video content is presented in the other eight panels. This information typically includes a photograph or other image, a content source logo indicating the source of the content by the panel, and text typically describing the title of the content and other information.

As shown at 78, a numeral may be provided next to each panel, so that the panels may be numbered onscreen from one to nine as shown. This facilitates a user selecting to play video content from a panel by saying the numeral associated with the panel. Also, as shown at 80 a genre indicator may be presented next to each panel. The genre indicator may be an arrow in the case of the first panel 76 indicating that the first panel 76 is presenting the currently selected video. The genre indicator may be a heart (as shown in FIG. 3 for panel 2) indicating the underlying video content has been selected by the user as a “favorite”. Other genre indicators may be presented respectively representing “history”, meaning that the content associated with the panel had been presented previously, “recommended”, meaning that the content associated with the panel is recommended by a recommendation engine executed by the AVDD processor 18, and so on, e.g., “frequently viewed”, “promotional content”. A user can select to present panels associated with content of only a single genre.

Additionally, if desired the GUI shown in FIG. 3 may present gesture hints 82, describing in text and/or animated hand motion a gesture and its associated command that the user may make, which can be captured by the camera 50 and correlated to the respective command by the processor 18 executing image recognition software. Thus, while viewer input may be afforded by making the display 28 a touch-sensitive display that a viewer can touch and thereby enter commands, present principles envision using viewer gestures in free space, i.e., gestures in which the viewer is distanced from the display 28, as would typically be the case for a TV viewer, with the viewer not touching the display but making gestures that are captured by the camera 50 and correlated to commands by the processor 18 executing image recognition software.

Further, a menu of selections may be presented as shown along the bottom of the GUI, including a “just for you” selector 84 to cause the GUI to contain panels with content personalized to a recognized user. A search selector 86 can be selected to cause a search for a user-input term to be executed. Also, a bookmark selector 88 can be selected to bookmark the currently playing video in panel 76 or to bookmark content in a panel over which the screen cursor is positioned.

Still referring to FIG. 3, a settings selector element 90 if selected causes a setting menus to be presented to control settings of the GUI. A queue selector element 92 may be presented to cause a list of enqueued programs to be presented on the display 28, and an inputs selector element 94 may be presented, selection of which causes a list of available input sources, e.g., “disk player, cable, satellite” to be presented on the display 28. A recommendations selector element 96 may be presented and if selected causes a list of recommended programming to be presented on the display 28. The list may be generated by a content recommendation engine such as the “Navi” engine made by Sony Corp. A “what's on” selector element 98 may be provided and if selected causes a list of current and future programs such as an electronic program guide (EPG) to be presented on the display 28. Indeed, an EPG may be presented in one of the panels shown in FIG. 3.

In any case, as mentioned above in the example shown the currently selected video content is always presented in the upper left panel 76 of the GUI. Should the user select another panel by using the RC 30 or by speaking the number of the panel or by the appropriate gesture captured by the camera 50, video content from the source associated with the selected panel automatically replaces the video content which was presented in the upper left panel 76 prior to receiving the new select signal. Indeed, should the user scroll the panels left or right to view additional content the upper left panel 76 remains unmoving as the other panels move on and off the display 28 as they are replaced by previously hidden content panels, with the upper left panel 76 always showing the currently selected video program.

The panel layout shown in FIG. 3 is somewhat coarse in that a visible border space 100 of many pixels width exists between adjacent panels as shown. Such a coarse representation facilitates control using gestures, although navigation by voice and by use of the RC 30 is always preferably enabled regardless of whether the GUI is in the coarse or fine view. FIG. 4 shows that if the user selects the fine view, the border space 100 disappears between adjacent panels, a view more suitable for RC control than gesture control although as stated above all three modes of command input (RC, voice, and gesture) remain enabled simultaneously with each other if desired.

Transition between the two views of FIGS. 3 and 4 may be effected by an appropriate hand gesture (e.g., a vertical motion of the hand) or by an appropriate voice command (e.g., “fine” or “coarse”), or by selecting, using the RC 30, “fine” or “course” from a settings menu accessed by selecting the settings selector element 90 or by pressing a key on the RC 30 or by simply grasping the RC, which is detected by the camera 50 and inferred by the processor 18 to correlate to a command to move to the “fine” screen of FIG. 4. The larger panels in the fine mode of FIG. 4 can be used to present more information than is presented in the panels of FIG. 3.

The GUI shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 may be removed from the screen and the currently playing video presented on the full display 28 by, e.g., toggling the home key on the RC 30. Voice command input may be enabled by voicing a phrase such as “hello TV’, which is detected by the microphone 52 and using voice recognition software correlated by the processor 18 to a command to enable voice commands. Voice input may also be enabled using the RC 30 to select the “search” selector element 86. To indicate that voice commands are enabled, an icon such as an image of a microphone 102 can be presented on the display 28. Gesture command input may be enabled by waving the hand, which is detected by the camera 50 and using image recognition software correlated by the processor 18 to a command to enable gesture commands. To indicate that gesture commands are enabled, an icon such as an image of a hand 104 can be presented on the display 28.

Non-limiting examples of corresponding RC, voice, and gesture commands that accomplish the same tasks are:

RC COMMAND VOICE COMMAND GESTURE Channel up “Channel up” upward motion of hand Channel down “Channel down” downward motion of hand Volume decrease “Quieter” thumb down Volume increase “louder” thumb up

FIG. 5 shows example viewer recognition notification logic. While logic is illustrated herein using flow charts for convenience, it is to be understood that equivalent state logic may be used.

Commencing at block 110, when a new viewer is recognized by, e.g., facial recognition of an image received from the camera 50 or by biometric means input by means of, e.g., a fingerprint reader on the RC 30 or by voice print recognition of signals received by the microphone 52, etc. the logic moves to block 112 to present a recognition notification message on the display 28. Note that viewers may initially input their recognition characteristics during system set up following menu prompts, along with their preferences, which become their “profile” with associated AVDD settings. Thus, multiple viewers may each have their own respective profile which defines settings of the AVDD, such as but not limited to audio settings such as volume, bass, treble, display settings such as brightness and contrast, favorites or other content that may be represented by content panels in FIG. 3, command input mode (voice, gesture, or RC), parental lock settings, etc. By “new viewer” is meant a viewer who is not associated with a profile that is currently being used to determine settings of the AVDD.

Decision diamond 114 indicates that if the notification message has been presented for greater than a timeout period, e.g., thirty seconds or sixth seconds, without response the logic ends at block 116 without taking further action. Similarly, if a viewer response is received to the message using, e.g., the RC 30 to select a “no thanks” option at decision diamond 118, the logic also ends at state 116 without further action. Thus, the “no thanks” option gives the viewer the opportunity not to change TV settings for a newly recognized viewer if so desired, and instead maintain the current settings.

On the other hand, if a viewer response is received within the timeout period and it is not a “no thanks” response the logic moves to decision diamond 120, used for exposition purposes to branch to block 122 if a viewer has selected to change settings to those of the individual new viewer profile or to branch to block 124 if a viewer has selected to change settings to a combination of those of the individual new viewer profile and those which are currently implemented by the AVDD 12. More specifically, if a viewer has chosen to alter AVDD settings to match the settings implicated by the profile of the new viewer, the AVDD settings are so altered at block 122. In contrast, if a viewer has chosen to alter AVDD settings to combine profile settings of the newly recognized viewer with the settings currently being used the logic combines the profiles or settings at block 124. FIG. 7 shows example logic for doing this. Note that combined settings may be established in response to viewer command as discussed above or automatically responsive to the processor, through image recognition, determining that multiple recognized individual viewers are watching the AVDD are watching the AVDD.

Prior to discussing FIG. 7, however, reference is first made to FIG. 6, which shows an example recognition notification message 126 that can be presented unobtrusively on the display 28 as shown. The message 126 preferably is kept simple, naming the newly recognized viewer as shown so viewers know who the AVDD thinks it is recognizing and giving a viewer only a few selections based on the recognition event of the new viewer. Specifically, in the embodiment shown the viewer may be queried as to whether the viewer wishes to customize the AVDD settings to account for the new viewer. As discussed above the viewer may decline (by selecting “no thanks” in the example GUI shown), or may “change to me”, meaning change to the settings defined by the profile of the viewer named in the message 126, or change to combined settings as discussed above and explicated further below. When “no thanks” is selected the newly recognized viewer may thereafter be ignored by the AVDD 12 and the message 126 not presented when the newly recognized viewer is again recognized until the AVDD is deenergized and then reenergized, which resets the AVDD to not ignore recognizing the same viewer. In this way a viewer who may be in the room but not interested in the AVDD does not keep triggering the message 126 when walking in and out of the room in which the AVDD is disposed. Other GUIs may be presented to affirmatively allow viewers to choose when the notifications 126 are displayed, including setting the AVDD to ignore a specific viewer for the current viewing session, so that the notification 126 can be conditionally suppressed depending on which viewer is recognized.

Accordingly, it may now be appreciated that by the automatic display of a notification message, the AVDD viewer is allowed to quickly and easily decide how he wishes to personalize his experience on the AVDD. Rather than navigating through complicated menu systems, the dialog message 126 brings the available choices up to the viewer, so that the viewer can quickly modify his user experience with little effort.

FIG. 7 shows example profile combination logic. Commencing at block 128, any overlapping settings characteristics between the profile of the new viewer who is the subject of the message 126 and the profile currently being used to define the AVDD settings (“existing viewer profile”) are added to a previously empty combined profile (CP). By “overlapping” is meant settings that agree with each other, so that, for example, if channel A is a favorite of both the new viewer and the existing viewer whose profile currently defines the AVDD settings, channel A is indicated in the CP as being a favorite. Likewise, if both viewers prefer the same audio and video settings, those settings are added to the CP.

Proceeding to block 130 any non-overlapping settings features of the new viewer's profile and existing viewer's profile are added to the CP. This means that, for example, if the new viewer has a volume preference but the existing viewer does not, the volume setting of the new viewer's profile is added to the CP. Likewise, if the new viewer has a favorite channel that is not on the favorites list of the existing viewer, both viewers' favorites are added to a favorites list in the CP.

Recognizing that non-overlapping settings, while not necessarily conflicting, may still require prioritization, the logic may flow to block 132 to give priority to the settings of the new viewer. Thus, for example, the first content panel in FIG. 3 can represent the new viewer's favorite channel while the second content panel may represent the existing viewer's favorite channel. Other heuristics for prioritizing settings may be used. As an example, priority can be given to the most restrictive parental lock setting among the various profiles.

On the other hand, some settings in the new viewer's profile may conflict with settings from the existing viewer's profile and if so, the CP contains no setting that is mutually inconsistent with those of the other profile. Instead, default settings are added to the CP. Thus, for example, if one viewer profile requires a loud volume setting and the Other profile requires a low volume setting, neither setting is added to the CP and the CP instead employs a default volume setting.

Conflicts between profiles, and prioritizing non-overlapping settings, may be based on weights. Thus, for example, a first setting may be weighted more in a parent's profile than in a child's profile, e.g., a volume setting from a parent's profile may be accorded more weight than a volume setting in a child's profile and thus the combined profile would use the volume setting from the parent's profile. Or, the two settings may be combined with more weight given to the setting from the parent's profile so that, for instance, if the parent profile weight is twice that of the child and the parent volume setting is 4 while the child volume setting is 7, the volume setting of the combined profile may be one-third of (4+4+7), or in this example, 5. The weights may be universal for all settings or may be setting-specific, so that while the weight given to one setting may be greater for a first viewer than a second viewer, the weight given to another setting may be greater for the second person than the first person. As an example, the weight given to the parental lock content setting for a child may be accorded greater weight than the weight given to the parental lock content setting for an adult, so that the combined profile would use the parental lock setting from the child's profile.

When the AVDD employs object recognition, not just face recognition, the logic of FIG. 8 may be used to tailor presentation based on objects in the location at which the AVDD 12 is disposed. If no object is recognized at decision diamond 136 the logic ends at state 138, but otherwise proceeds to block 140 to determine the identity of the recognized object by entering a remote or local database of object IDs and then using the ID as entering argument to a remote or local database correlating object IDs to images or messages or advertisements and the like. The image, etc. corresponding to the object ID is presented at block 142 on the display 28.

Thus, object recognition can be used to display momentary dialog boxes or other images for ether purposes than customizing the user interface. For instance, if a child's toy is recognized by the AVDD, the AVDD might periodically display an actionable dialog box promotion for related or competitor toys, depending on the advertisement model. The user interface of the AVDD can display a momentary message with a few simple action buttons.

While the particular USER INTERFACE FOR AUDIO VIDEO DISPLAY DEVICE SUCH AS TV PERSONALIZED FOR MULTIPLE VIEWERS is herein shown and described in detail, it is to be understood that the subject matter which is encompassed by the present invention is limited only by the claims. 

1. Audio video display device (AVDD) comprising: processor; video display; and computer readable storage medium bearing instructions executable by the processor to: present a message on the display, the message including at least a first selection indicating that settings of the AVDD are to represent settings in at least two individual viewer profiles; and responsive to receiving the first selection, establish AVDD settings according to settings in both individual viewer profiles.
 2. The AVDD of claim 1, wherein the processor establishes AVDD settings at least in part by adding overlapping settings characteristics between a first individual viewer profile and a second individual viewer profile to a combined setting profile (CP), a characteristic being overlapping in that it appears in both first and second individual viewer profiles, the AVDD settings being defined by the CP.
 3. The AVDD of claim 2, wherein the processor establishes AVDD settings at least in part by adding to the CP non-overlapping, non-conflicting settings characteristics of the first individual viewer profile and second individual viewer profile, a characteristic being non-overlapping, non-conflicting in that it appears in the first individual viewer profile and not the second individual viewer profile and is not mutually exclusive with a setting in the second individual viewer profile.
 4. The AVDD of claim 3, wherein non-overlapping setting characteristics are prioritized according to at least one prioritization rule.
 5. The AVDD of claim 3, wherein the processor, responsive to a determination that a setting of a corresponding characteristic in the first individual viewer profile conflicts with a setting defined by the second individual viewer profile, uses neither profile to establish the setting and instead establishes a default setting.
 6. The AVDD of claim 1, wherein the processor gives priority to a most restrictive parental lock setting among the individual viewer profiles.
 7. The AVDD of claim 1, wherein the processor gives a first setting from a first individual viewer profile more weight than the first setting from a second individual viewer profile and combines the first and second settings accordingly to establish a combined first setting, the processor establishing the combined first setting in the AVDD.
 8. The AVDD of claim 7, wherein settings from the first viewer profile are always weighted more than settings from the second viewer profile.
 9. The AVDD of claim 7, wherein a first setting from the first viewer profile is weighted more than a first setting from the second viewer profile and a second setting from the first viewer profile is weighted less than a second setting from the second viewer profile.
 10. Audio video display device (AVDD) comprising: processor; video display; and computer readable storage medium bearing instructions executable by the processor to: establish at least one setting in the AVDD according to a combined setting derived from individual settings associated with respective individual viewers.
 11. The AVDD of claim 10, wherein the individual settings are contained in respective first and second individual viewer profiles.
 12. The AVDD of claim 11, wherein the processor gives priority to a most restrictive parental lock setting among the individual viewer profiles.
 13. The AVDD of claim 11, wherein the processor gives a first setting from the first individual viewer profile more weight than the first setting from the second individual viewer profile and combines the first and second settings accordingly to establish the combined setting.
 14. The AVDD of claim 13, wherein settings from the first individual viewer profile are always weighted more than settings from the second individual viewer profile.
 15. The AVDD of claim 13, wherein a first setting from the first individual viewer profile is weighted more than a first setting from the second individual viewer profile and a second setting from the first individual viewer profile is weighted less than a second setting from the second individual viewer profile.
 16. Method, comprising: establishing settings for an audio video display device (AVDD) by: accessing at least first and second individual viewer profiles containing respective settings; and establishing the settings for the AVDD based at least in part on the respective settings in the first and second individual viewer profiles.
 17. The method of claim 16, comprising automatically establishing the settings for the AVDD responsive to viewers of the respective individual profiles being recognized through image recognition as viewing the AVDD.
 18. The method of claim 16, comprising establishing the settings for the AVDD responsive to a viewer command to establish combined settings.
 19. The method of claim 16, wherein settings from the first individual viewer profile are always weighted more than settings from the second individual viewer profile.
 20. The method of claim 16, wherein a first setting from the first individual viewer profile is weighted more than a first setting from the second individual viewer profile and a second setting from the first individual viewer profile is weighted less than a second setting from the second individual viewer profile. 